


They Say It's Your Birthday

by TooOftenObsessed



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 09:30:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14892041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooOftenObsessed/pseuds/TooOftenObsessed
Summary: It's Hermann's birthday. Nobody is supposed to know. (Takes place in 2018, very pre-canon.)





	They Say It's Your Birthday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GloriaVictoria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloriaVictoria/gifts).



> Today is Hermann Gottlieb's 29th birthday, at least, it still is in my time zone. The Beatles songs in question are Blackbird and Birthday. The title comes from the 2nd song. This is directly inspired by fanart from the lovely and incomparable GloriaVictoria. https://twitter.com/VictoriaSully/status/1005299664365740032

“Dr. Newton Geiszler!” Tendo Choi all but dropped his lunch tray on the table across from where Newt was sitting. “You better call me Santa Claus.”

“Whatcha got for me?” Newt hoped Tendo had found a new illicit hookup for kaiju samples. Newt’s own sources had all but run dry, and the stuff coming from the PPDC itself was less that satisfactory.

“Now, look, I can’t tell you what I had to go through to get my hands on this, but I managed to track down that one thing you’ve been asking me for.” Newt blinked for a second, not quite understanding. Tendo sat down across from him and slid a folded piece of paper across the table. Newt slyly unfolded it, just far enough to glimpse a date.

“No fucking way, man.” Newt hissed. “Wait, this is in _three days?_ ” Tendo shrugged, sipping his coffee.

“Best I could do brother. Hey, where you going?” Newt had started shoveling food into his mouth, almost choking on his oatmeal, before he grabbed his toast and stood up, nearly knocking over his coffee in doing so.

“Gotta go Tendo, shit to do. And don’t worry, I’ll keep your name out of it. This is great, thanks so much dude.” Tendo laughed again, but called out.

“Hey Newt.” Newton paused with an expectant look on his face. “He’s gonna kill you. You know that, right?” The little scientist broke into a sunny grin.

“I’m _counting_ on it.”

* _Three Days Later_ *

Hermann Gottlieb was having rather a nice day. He’d slept well, his work was going smoothly, and his persistently annoying labmate had miraculously chosen some reasonable music for the afternoon. Dr. Geiszler’s music taste could best be described as chaotic, fluctuating wildly from late 50s surfer rock to post-kaiju heavy metal and _everything_ in between. Hermann had spent hours begging him to change the music to something less maddening, or at least turn it down.

Today, much to Hermann’s surprise, Newt had chosen to play The Beatles. Hermann couldn’t have said which album it was, but he was familiar with enough of the songs to enjoy listening. He’d even allowed Newton to get away with his persistent habit of slowly turning the volume up, pretending for once that he didn’t notice each incremental increase. This had the pleasant side-effect of drowning out both Newton’s incessant muttering and the frankly _vile_ noises that pervaded the lab when Dr. Geiszler had a specimen to dissect. Hermann found himself able to completely ignore everything that was happening on the opposite side of the lab. He’d been so productive, even with the music playing, that he hadn’t so much as glanced in that direction in well over an hour.

The afternoon was going so well, in fact, that Hermann occasionally found himself tapping his foot and humming along to some of his favorites; _Blackbird_ had been always particularly special to him. Dietrich used to play this song on mandolin, letting little Hermann clap along. _Take these broken wings and learn to fly._ Hermann paused in his equations, caught in the memory, momentarily carried back to post-surgical physiotherapy, his mother’s reassuring hands, his father’s steady encouragement, and Dietrich chucking him under the chin. “Hopping along, _mein fr_ _ö_ _schlein_?” The nickname was embarrassing to him then, but now his lips quirked in a fond smile.

The song faded, the soft twitter of the blackbird swallowed in an utterly jarring cacophony of drums and electric guitars. Hermann was about to turn to ask that Dr. Geiszler turn the music down when he recognized the beat. His stomach clenched, cold dread filling his chest, and he froze in place. _It’s a coincidence, surely._ Newton Geiszler had asked a dozen times, and Hermann refused to dignify the question with a response. _The information is private. Confidential. There’s no way he could know._

“ _THEY SAY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY!”_ The unmistakable piercing screech of one Dr. Newton Geiszler rent the air behind Hermann, and Hermann knew all was lost. He leaned his forehead against the chalkboard, trying to take in some of its coolness, its calm, its order. Newt continued shrieking lyrics. “ _WE’RE GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME!”_ Hermann tried desperately to quell the murderous rage building within him. The damage was done. He felt a hand on his shoulder and nearly slapped it off.

“Hermann, Hermann, c’mon man, I’m not gonna stop until you turn around.” Deciding that ultimately, the fastest way to get Newton to stop was to play along, Hermann turned. Much to his chagrin, Newton was wearing a party hat and the far side of the lab had been strung with colorful crepe streamers.

“Newton please don’t do this. Please.” Newt only smiled wider.

“C’mon Herm, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Please no. I hate surprises. You know this. Please don’t. Whatever it is, it’s fine, just please…” But Newton had grabbed Hermann by the shoulders and was steering him bodily around to their improvised break area. When Hermann came in sight of the couch, it took all of his willpower not to turn and storm out. Tendo Choi sat in the middle, flanked by gawky Mako Mori and her younger brother Jake. Mako looked almost as embarrassed as Hermann felt, but Jake sprung to his feet and practically flew to the small table off to one side.

“Ta-dah!” Jake threw his arms out in an exaggerated presentation, framing a cake. As Hermann drew closer, he saw that it was chocolate, with pink icing, and somehow Newt had managed to find candles spelling out the word “NERD.” He turned and scowled at Newton, who only grinned again.  
“You have no idea how hard it was to find those.”

“Apparently not hard enough.”

“Blow ‘em out, come on man! Make a wish.” Hermann was about to snap that he wished he were _anywhere_ but here, but a glance at Jake’s earnest face was enough to stop him. He let Newt guide him to the table and seat him dramatically in front of the cake as Tendo and Mako rose to join them. Newt looked Hermann up and down where he sat. With a swift, almost businesslike gesture, he removed the conical hat from his own head and placed it on Hermann’s, releasing the elastic to snap against Hermann’s chin. “Ouch,” Hermann mumbled pathetically, tugging at the string.

Just before he was about to blow the damn candles out, he caught sight of Mako holding a polaroid camera. All the teenagers were obsessed with the things. All he could do was hope that the archaic technology didn’t function as advertised. He leaned forward and blew out each tiny flame, one by one. As soon as they were extinguished, Newt swept the cake out from under Hermann’s chin and set to it with a cake knife, plating up absolutely gratuitous slices.  
“Hang on,” Jake murmured to himself. Looking over the spread, he slapped his forehead dramatically. “Ah damn, we need ice cream!” The boy was off running almost before Mako could hiss after him to watch his language. Hermann almost smiled, before he remembered that he was absolutely _furious_ about this.

Tendo and Mako slid into two other chairs at the table. Mako pulled a thin Polaroid film out of her camera and set to shaking it, such an anachronistic gesture in such a modern girl. Tendo clapped a hand on Hermann’s shoulder.

“Sorry about this, man. I couldn’t stop him if I tried.” Hermann sighed.  
“I understand, Mr. Choi. I know how he is.”

“Hey, I don’t appreciate you talking about me like I’m not even here.” Newt gestured broadly with the cake knife, causing Mako to have to duck beneath his swinging arm. She scooted closer to Hermann and handed him a napkin.

“Dr. Gottlieb, do you remember teaching me origami when I was little?” Now Hermann did smile. 

“I do, Miss Mori.” Without even thinking, his fingers began smoothing the napkin out flat, then folding it into the elegant patterns that would form the structure of a swan. The finished product was rather disappointing, however, as the napkin lacked the stiffness to hold its shape. Hermann looked at Mako, about to apologize, but she took the misshapen thing from his hand with a laugh and a smile.

“It’s not quite right, is it?” She asked with a laugh.

“No, I suppose not.”

“Like our Dr. Geizler, hm?” Now Hermann did laugh out loud.

“Just like, I should think.” He watched Newt cut the cake for a moment, the slices as uneven and choppy as his hair.

“But it’s still cute.” She patted his arm. “Happy Birthday, Dr. Gottlieb.”

“Thank you, Miss Mori.”

Before long, Jake came tearing back in, bearing an enormous tub of vanilla ice cream and what seemed to be a secondary bucket of sprinkles, chocolate chips, and whipped cream. He dropped it all on the table, breathing heavily, and grinned at Mako.  
“Guess who I ran into?” Before she could respond, Stacker Pentecost strode briskly into the lab.

“Dr. Gottlieb, Dr. Geiszler, Mr. Choi, good afternoon. I hope my children aren’t giving you too much trouble?” Mako rolled her eyes, a perfect picture of teenage disdain, but anyone could see it was an act. Hermann struggled to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster while wearing a multicolored party hat.

“Good afternoon sir, not at all, we’re just,” before Hermann could explain just what they _were_ doing, Stacker leveled his most serious gaze on Newt.

“Dr. Geiszler, I’ll save you the embarrassment of explaining just _why_ I wasn’t told about this little… liaison, and simply accept your assurances that the oversight won’t happen again in the future.” Newt swallowed.

“Of course, just, right, sorry. Uh, want some cake?” Newt held out a plate bearing what looked to be a full fifth of the cake. Pentecost pursed his lips thoughtfully before selecting one of the smaller offerings already on the table. Jake was hard at work, dropping large scoops of ice cream directly on top of the slices he could reach, layering them all with sprinkles, all the while dropping fistfuls of chocolate chips directly into his mouth. Seeing Marshall Pentecost placidly eating cake was something Hermann never expected to see, and he figured he’d better do likewise. Hermann sat down, again tugging at the uncomfortable elastic band of the party hat but not sure if he would be allowed to take it off. Mako noticed his discomfort, and pulled the hat off his head and placed it on her own, where it clashed horribly with her neon pink hair.

“Dr. Geiszler, here!” She handed her camera to Newt and pulled Jake close, their cheeks pressed together. He grinned, hoisting his plate (now more whipped cream than cake) into view, and Newt snapped a photo, pulling the film free and shaking it. Newt sidled over to Pentecost and handed him the picture, and Pentecost shook it too, smiling a little. He tucked it into his chest pocket, finished off his cake, and set the plate aside.

“Happy Birthday, Dr. Gottlieb. Don’t work too hard today. That’s an order.” Stacker didn’t quite smile at Hermann, but his eyes betrayed just a touch of amusement. “Good afternoon everyone.” As soon as their dad was gone, Jake turned to Tendo.

“So have you seen Gypsy Danger in action? Dad won’t let us. I hear those Becket boys are the best jaeger pilots in history!”

“They took down Yamarashi on their very first mission.” Mako blushed slightly saying this. Hermann wondered idly if she might not have a crush on one of the Beckets. Raleigh was only four years older than she was.

“Hey, check this out!” Hermann heard Newt launching into his Yamarashi spiel for probably the fourteenth time as the biologist pulled up the design for his next tattoo on his tablet. Hermann tuned out the chatter and turned to his cake. It was good, suspiciously so; Newt had to have acquired some contraband chocolate. _How thoughtful._ Hermann and Tendo fell into an easy conversation about the newest Mark IV jaegers under construction, and before long, Hermann forgot to be irritated.

* _Later_  *

“Hey, Hermann. I’m calling it a night here. You should too, Stacker said.” Hermann waved idly at Newt from his desk, indicating that he was almost done. Newt waited a moment, then crossed the center of the lab to stand at Hermann’s elbow. Hermann shut his terminal down, pulled his reading glasses off, and turned his chair to look up at Newt expectantly. Newt couldn’t tell if his partner was more irritated with him than usual or not. Hermann arched an eyebrow while Newt fidgeted nervously.

“Newton, spit it out.”

“Well look, man, I know you said you hate surprises and you _really_ didn’t want a birthday party but, I mean, you seemed like you had a good time, right?” Newt said all this in one frantic breath, afraid of the shitstorm he was in for if the answer was actually no. Hermann pursed his lips, his jaw working as he pondered the question.

“I _do_ hate surprises, and I really _didn’t_ want a birthday party, but…” Hermann glanced at his hands for a moment, then grabbed his cane and stood. He awkwardly put a hand on Newt’s shoulder. “Thank you, Newton.” Hermann held Newt’s gaze for a moment, his eyes softer than Newt had ever seen. “It was nice.” Newt cleared his throat, unsure how to respond to such a genuine moment from the prickly mathematician.

“Hey, man, I had like no warning this time, just wait til next year.” Hermann dropped his hand from Newt’s shoulder, his lips twitching from that enigmatic smile into Newt’s favorite scowl. Hermann grumbled under his breath and stormed out of the lab. “Your dirty thirty! It’s gonna be fucking _lit_ dude!” Newt laughed as he thought he heard some truly vulgar German epithets drift back through the door.

Newt pulled out the Polaroid that Mako had given him. It was perfect. Hermann looked absolutely furious, but the effect was totally ruined by the party hat. Newt had jumped into frame, and the candles were perfectly legible. Flawless. He scanned the picture into his personal tablet, then slid the original underneath Hermann’s keyboard before locking the lab.


End file.
